by Randy Rogoski, West Michigan Ice Yacht Club

Michigander is 40-feet long and weighs 1,400 pounds. It’s in a class by itself and is one of the

largest ice yachts sailing anywhere in the 21st century.

This “A”-class stern steerer carries 360 square feet of sloop-rigged sail. “That’s a lot of horsepower,” said skipper Eric Sawyer. Michigander also sports a 250-square-foot Kevlar® mainsail for better control in more wind. She’ll sail in excess of 60 mph in a 10 mph wind.

by Randy Rogoski

There is only one solution that comes from the ache of seeing iceboats ripping around on Mona Lake all your life: give in and buy one. If the thrill doesn’t quite meet expectations, build one that will be faster. Pat Filius has lived 20 years on a now-flooded celery flat fed by Black Creek, the main tributary of Mona Lake in Norton, Michigan. In 2014 he bought his first iceboat for $400. Sailing it just once was enough to convince him that he wanted a faster boat. Continue reading →

By Randy Rogoski

There is only one solution that comes from the ache of seeing iceboats ripping around on Mona Lake all your life: give in and buy one. If the thrill doesn’t quite meet expectations, build one that will be faster.

Pat Filius has lived 20 years on a now-flooded celery flat fed by Black Creek, the main tributary of Mona Lake in Norton, Michigan. In 2014 he bought his first iceboat for $400. Sailing it just once was enough to convince him that he wanted a faster boat. Continue reading →

“What’s the lowest temperature WEST SYSTEM Epoxy can be applied?” During cold weather, this is a common question our Technical Advisors are asked. Fortunately, it’s one we’re well equipped to answer. Gougeon Brothers, Inc. got its start in the world of DN Iceboat racing. Both Meade and Jan Gougeon have won multiple DN cup races worldwide. It’s not unusual for an iceboat to need repairs mid-regatta, so part of the discipline of iceboat racing is getting epoxy to cure despite cold working environments. The trick is using strategies that bring epoxy temperatures up to adequate cure levels in cold working environments. Continue reading →

Super Fan Builds created this Groot swing set for one of their nominated Super Fans. The structure was made from a steel frame encased in foam and covered with fiberglass and WEST SYSTEM Epoxy. See the full video on Youtube.

Huialoha

We built Huialoha about eight years ago with no blueprints or plans. We started with several pictures of lobster boats from New England and did a Hawaiian version. He had 100 sheets of 3/8” (9.5 mm) marine plywood and about 50 gallons of WEST SYSTEM Epoxy. It took three months to do the hull and the boat in the water. The cabin was added while the boat was in the water. I am still working on the interior teak trim. Every time I go down to the harbor to work on it, I get distracted by Hawaii’s beautiful weather and end up going out for a cruise and swim instead! Continue reading →

How WEST SYSTEM® Products Got Their Start

by Meade Gougeon

Cover Photo: Top image – First GBI crew building GOLDEN DAZY in the early ’70s. Bottom image – The Gougeon Brothers, Inc. team in 2008.

2009 was the 40th Anniversary of Gougeon Brothers, Inc. 1969 marked a point in the Gougeon brothers’ careers when they applied all they had learned about wooden structures and epoxy technology to manufacture, for the first time, a product utilizing wood/epoxy composite construction. The full story of Gougeon Brothers, Inc. begins long before that date and is sure to continue well into the next 40 years.

There are those who believe sailing fast means advanced composites with high-tech fibers, exotic cores and plenty of cash. Very few think of wood when they think of fast, but before carbon fiber, before Kevlar™…there was wood.

I’m not talking about those great big lumbering tall ships or schooners. I’m talking about the pioneers of boatbuilding and fast sailboat racing. Men of vision who saw wood not just as planks and large hunks of trees to be bolted together, but as an engineering fiber. Men like Walter Greene, Jim Brown, Continue reading →

Single Outrigger Motorboat

Russell Brown designed and built this single outrigger motorboat for his friend Josh Sutherland. Although not completely finished when the photo was taken, it was “pretty well tested and didn’t seem to have any really bad habits,” says Brown. It is 24′ long and built fairly ruggedly. It uses a 20 hp Yamaha four-stroke and goes about 18 knots with three people on board. Russell, the son of legendary boat designer Jim Brown, designs and builds foils, boats and other composite projects in Port Townsend, Washington. Visit www.ptwatercraft.com.

Ed Van Kirk’s Guillemot Kayak

This Guillemot kayak (left) is the work of Ed Van Kirk of Constantine, Michigan. Ed built both of these kayaks of redwood and sugar pine, using Nick Shade’s book TheStrip-Built Sea Kayak as a reference. The double seater is a Guillemot kayak, 20′ long with a 30″ beam and weighs 73 lb. The single seater is a Little Auk kayak, 10′ long with a 29″ beam and weighs 43 lb. Ed has also built a 14′ Wee Lassie Two. Continue reading →